Beverage cartridge with filter guard

ABSTRACT

A cartridge for forming a beverage includes a container defining an interior space, a filter, a beverage medium contained in the interior space, and a filter guard. The filter may be arranged so that liquid that interacts with the beverage medium flows through the filter to exit the interior space. The container may include a surface arranged to be pierced by a piercing member to permit beverage to exit the container. The filter guard may be arranged to contact the piercing member to resist damage to the filter when the container surface is pierced. In one embodiment, the filter guard and filter may be in contact with the container surface that is pierced, yet damage to the filter that might be caused by the piercing element may be avoided.

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.12/474,420, filed May 29, 2009, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to a beverage cartridge to be used with abeverage forming system, such a single-serve coffee maker.

2. Related Art

Cartridges for use with beverage forming machines are well known, andmay include one or more filters as well as a beverage medium, such asground coffee beans, tea leaves, etc. In some cartridges, the filter islocated between two or more portions of an interior space of thecartridge, e.g., one portion in which a beverage medium is located, anda second portion into which liquid that has passed through the filtermay flow. An example of one such cartridge is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.5,840,189 and/or U.S. Pat. No. 6,607,762, which may be used with abeverage making machine like that described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,398,726,which patents are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. Inuse, the beverage forming machine introduces a fluid into the cartridgeto interact with the beverage medium. In some machines, a piercingoutlet needle of the machine is used to pierce a surface of thecartridge (e.g., a bottom wall of the cartridge container) permittingthe liquid that has interacted with the beverage medium to flow throughthe filter and exit the cartridge.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The inventors have appreciated that although suitable positioning of thefilter in a cartridge can help prevent damage to the filter caused by apiercing element, e.g., by positioning a lower end of a filter suitablyfar above a bottom of the cartridge like that shown in U.S. PatentPublication 2005/0051478, such an arrangement reduces a volume of thecartridge that is available to hold a beverage medium. For example, somebeverage drinkers demand the use of relatively larger amounts of groundcoffee so that a suitably strong coffee drink can be made with a singlecartridge. The inventors have developed methods and apparatus toincrease the available volume of a filter cartridge without increasingthe overall cartridge size while reducing the risk that a filter will bedamaged when pierced by an outlet needle or other piercing element.

Thus, aspects of the invention may provide benefits such as reducedwaste, because the overall cartridge size may remain small while thevolume available in a cartridge for holding a beverage medium isincreased over prior arrangements. In addition, by maintaining a sameoverall size for a cartridge, a cartridge having an increased beveragemedium volume may be useable with pre-existing beverage machines. Thatis, some beverage machines that receive and use beverage cartridges havea brew chamber that is arranged to receive a cartridge of a defined sizeand shape so that larger (or smaller) cartridges, or even cartridges ofa different shape may not be suitable for use in the machine. Bymaintaining a same overall size and shape of a cartridge, benefits oflarger beverage medium volume, reduced waste and/or other features maybe extended into use with beverage machines that customers already ownand use. Of course, aspects of the invention may allow for the reductionin overall size of cartridges as compared to prior versions. That is,since aspects of the invention may permit for the more efficient use ofcartridge volume, overall cartridge size may be reduced, thereby furtherreducing waste associated with container materials, etc. Such advantagesmay be realized while maintaining beverage medium volume and/or otherperformance features that could previously only be provided in a largercartridge.

In one aspect of the invention, a cartridge for use in forming abeverage includes a container defining an interior space having firstand second portions. The container may have a surface, e.g., a bottom ofa container that has a frustoconical shape, arranged to be pierced by apiercing element to permit a beverage to exit the interior space (or topermit a liquid to enter the interior space). A beverage medium (such asground coffee, tea or other) may be located in the first portion of theinterior space of the container and interact with liquid introduced intothe container to form a beverage. A filter may be attached to thecontainer, e.g., at the sidewall of a frustoconical container, and bearranged so that liquid that interacts with the beverage medium in thefirst portion of the interior space flows through the filter toward thesecond portion of the interior space. A filter guard may be disposed inthe interior space and be arranged to contact a piercing element andresist damage to the filter when the container surface is pierced by thepiercing element (e.g., for beverage outlet or liquid input). Forexample, the filter guard may include a disc shaped element located atthe bottom of the container so that when a needle or other piercingelement pierces the bottom of the frustoconical container to permit abeverage to exit the cartridge, the filter guard contacts the needle andprevents the needle from contacting the filter. As a result, the filtermay be located very close to the bottom of the container in an areanormally entered by the needle, yet avoid damage that might be caused bythe needle upon its entry into the container.

In one embodiment, the filter guard may separate at least a portion ofthe container surface to be pierced and the filter, and in someinstances may contact both the piercing element and the filter when thecontainer surface is pierced. For example, the filter guard may bepositioned between the filter and the container bottom and be arrangedto displace at least a portion of the filter when the filter guard iscontacted and displaced by the piercing element as the piercing elemententers the interior space of the container. The filter guard may haveany suitable arrangement, e.g., may have a disc shape, such as a washershape with a central opening, or other body with at least one channelarranged to permit liquid to flow past the body.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing acartridge for use with a beverage brewing machine includes providing afilter, a filter guard, and a container having an opening, an interiorspace and a surface arranged to be pierced to allow a beverage to exitthe interior space. At least a portion of the filter may be inserted inthe interior space of the container, and the filter guard inserted inthe interior space of the container. The filter guard may be insertedbefore, after or simultaneously with insertion of the filter. The filtermay be attached to the container and be arranged to receive a beveragematerial in a first portion of the interior space such that liquid thatinteracts with the beverage material flows through the filter toward asecond portion of the interior space. Also, the filter guard may bearranged to contact a piercing element and resist damage to the filterwhen the container surface is pierced by the piercing element. Thebeverage medium may be placed in the first portion of the interior spaceof the container and be arranged to interact with the liquid introducedinto the first portion of the interior space to form a beverage.Thereafter, the opening of the container may be closed, e.g., by placinga lid over the opening. The lid may be arranged to be pierced by asecond piercing element to permit the liquid to enter the first portionof the interior space.

In another aspect of the invention, a beverage system includes abeverage machine having a receptacle arranged to receive a cartridge, afluid inlet arranged to introduce liquid into the cartridge, and a fluidoutlet including a piercing element arranged to pierce a surface of thecartridge. The system may also include a cartridge arranged to bereceived by the receptacle of the beverage machine. The cartridge mayinclude a container defining an interior space and having the surfacearranged to be pierced by a piercing element, a beverage medium in theinterior space arranged to interact with liquid introduced by the fluidinlet into the container to form a beverage, a filter at least partiallylocated in the interior space and arranged to filter liquid thatinteracts with the beverage medium in the interior space, and a filterguard arranged to contact the piercing element and resist damage to thefilter when the container surface is pierced by the piercing element topermit a beverage to exit the interior space of the container.

In another aspect of the invention, a method of making a beverageincludes providing a beverage machine having a receptacle arranged toreceive a cartridge, a fluid inlet arranged to introduce liquid into thecartridge, and a fluid outlet including a piercing element arranged topierce a surface of the cartridge. A cartridge may be provided in thereceptacle of the beverage machine, where the cartridge includes acontainer with an interior space, and a filter and filter guard bothlocated in the interior space and near a surface of the cartridge. Thesurface of the cartridge may be pierced with the piercing element so asto form an opening in the surface to permit a beverage to exit thecontainer, and the piercing element may be contacted with the filterguard to resist damage to the filter. The method may also includeintroducing a liquid into the interior space by way of the fluid inlet,and permitting a beverage to exit the cartridge through the openingformed by the piercing element.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Aspects of the invention are described below with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like numerals reference like elements, andwherein:

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a cartridge in accordance withaspects of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cartridge of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the cartridge of FIG. 1 after asurface of the cartridge is pierced by a piercing element;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of an illustrative embodiment for a filter guardhaving multiple channels in accordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of an illustrative embodiment for a mesh filterguard in accordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of an illustrative embodiment for a filter guardthat includes a porous material in accordance with aspects of theinvention;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of an illustrative embodiment for a filter guardhaving arcuate channels in accordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of an illustrative embodiment for a filter guardhaving protrusions and channels located at the periphery in accordancewith aspects of the invention;

FIG. 9 is a side cross-sectional view of an illustrative embodiment fora filter guard adapted to move vertically and/or horizontally withrespect to a container of a cartridge in accordance with aspects of theinvention;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of a filter guard having a central portionadapted to be attached to a container of a cartridge and havingextensions adapted to move with respect to the container of thecartridge in accordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a side cross-sectional view of the filter guard of FIG. 10attached to the container of the cartridge;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a beverage machine usable in accordancewith aspects of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a side view of the beverage machine of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram of components of a beverage machineusable in accordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 15 shows steps in a method of manufacturing a cartridge inaccordance with aspects of the invention; and

FIG. 16 shows steps in a method of preparing a beverage in accordancewith aspects of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood that aspects of the invention are describedherein with reference to the figures, which show illustrativeembodiments. The illustrative embodiments described herein are notnecessarily intended to show all aspects of the invention, but ratherare used to describe a few illustrative embodiments. Thus, aspects ofthe invention are not intended to be construed narrowly in view of theillustrative embodiments. In addition, it should be understood thataspects of the invention may be used alone or in any suitablecombination with other aspects of the invention.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a side cross-sectional view and an explodedperspective view, respectively, of an illustrative cartridge 10 thatincorporates one or more aspects of the invention. The cartridge 10 maybe used in a beverage machine to form any suitable beverage such as tea,coffee, other infusion-type beverages, beverages formed from a liquid orpowdered concentrate, etc. Thus, the cartridge 10 may contain anysuitable beverage medium 20, e.g., ground coffee, tea leaves, dry herbaltea, powdered beverage concentrate, and/or other beverage-makingmaterial (such as powdered milk). In one illustrative embodiment, thecartridge 10 contains a beverage medium 20 that is configured for usewith a machine that forms coffee and/or tea beverages, however, aspectsof the invention are not limited in this respect.

In this illustrative embodiment, the cartridge 10 includes a container12 that includes an interior space 14 having a first portion 14 a and asecond portion 14 b. It should be understood, however, that otheradditional portions of the interior space and/or sub-portions of thefirst and second portions, may be provided in other embodiments. Forexample, it is possible for the cartridge to have two interior spaceportions that respectively hold different beverage media, and so on. Inthis embodiment, the container 12 may have a frustoconical cup shapewith a sidewall 17 and an opening 13. However, in other embodiments, thecontainer 12 may have a fluted, conical, or cylindrical shape, may be inthe form of a square cup, a domed cup, a sphere or other suitable form,may have a fluted, corrugated, or otherwise shaped sidewall, and so on.Also, the container 12 need not necessarily have a defined shape, as isthe case with some beverage sachets and pods. For example, although thecontainer 12 in this embodiment has a relatively rigid and/or resilientconstruction so that the container 12 tends to maintain its shape, thecontainer 12 could be made to have a more compliant and/or deformablearrangement, e.g., like a sachet container made from a sheet ofdeformable material. Thus, an interior space defined by the container 12may be formed only after the container material is formed around abeverage medium, filter and/or other cartridge components, such as whentwo filter paper layers (container material) are joined together arounda charge of coffee grounds to form a cartridge.

If the container 12 includes an opening 13, the opening 13 may be closedby a lid 38, e.g., a foil and polymer laminate material that is attachedto a rim 19 of the container 12. Of course, a lid 38 is not necessary,e.g., where the container is arranged in a sachet-type or pod-typeconfiguration. The container 12 and/or the lid 38 may provide a barrierto moisture and/or gases, such as oxygen. For example, the container 12may be made of a polymer laminate, e.g., formed from a sheet including alayer of polystyrene or polypropylene and a layer of EVOH and/or otherbarrier material. Such an arrangement may provide suitable protectionfor the beverage medium 20, e.g., from unwanted exposure from moisture,oxygen and/or other materials. In other embodiments, the interior space14 may be enclosed by a permeable covering, such as a filter paper, apolymer sheet, a mesh layer, or other permeable material, or in someother manner, as the invention is not limited in this regard.

The cartridge 10 may also include a filter 30 attached to the container12 (or not) and at least partially located in the interior space 14. Thefilter 30 may be arranged between the first and second portions 14 a and14 b of the interior space 14 so that liquid in the first portion 14 aof the interior space that interacts with beverage medium 20 flowsthrough the filter 30 and toward the second portion 14 b of the interiorspace 14 before exiting the container 12. The filter 30 may be entirelylocated in the interior space 14 or portions of the filter 30 may extendoutside the interior space 14, as aspects of the invention are limitedin this respect. For example, portions of the filter 30 may be joined tothe lid 38 and/or between the lid 38 and the rim 19, and thus be locatedoutside of the interior space 14. In addition, the filter 30 may includeone or more portions that function to filter liquid passing through thefilter 30, as well as portions that are impermeable or otherwiserestrict flow. The filter 30 may be the only element in the interiorspace 14 that separates the first and second portions 14 a and 14 b, orother components, such as walls, ribs, or other structures in additionto the filter 30 may physically separate two or more portions of theinterior space 14 from each other. However, in a flow sense, the filter30 may be the only component that separates or divides two or moreportions of the interior space 14, e.g., liquid may need to flow throughthe filter 30 to pass from the first portion 14 a to the second portion14 b. Of course, the filter 30 may have multiple stages, e.g., a coarsefilter portion that filters out relatively large particles, followed bya fine filter portion that filters relatively smaller particles. Thus,the filter 30 may include two or more separate components, if desired.

In this illustrative embodiment, the filter 30 may have a substantiallyfrustoconical shape with fluted sidewalls and a generally flat bottom31, as shown. However, the filter 30 may have any suitable shape, suchas a cylindrical shape, a square cup shape, a domed shape, a flat sheet,or other. The filter 30 may be the attached to the container 12 in anysuitable way, such as by an adhesive, thermal welding, a mechanicalinterference fit, etc. In this illustrative embodiment, the filter 30may include a combination of polypropylene and cellulose materials andmay be attached to the container sidewall 17 at an upper portion of thefilter 30 by thermal welding, but the filter 30 may be attached to a rim19 of the container 12, or in any other suitable location.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, a cartridge may include aprotective element, e.g., a filter guard, that resists damage to thefilter that may be caused by a piercing element that forms an opening inthe cartridge to allow liquid flow into and/or out of the cartridge. Forexample, in some embodiments, damage to the filter may cause coffeegrounds or other beverage media to undesirably bypass the filter and endup in the finished beverage.

In one aspect, the filter guard may resist damage to the filter even ina situation where the exact location at which the cartridge is piercedis unknown prior to piercing. Thus, the cartridge may be pierced in anyone of several different locations, yet the filter guard may resistdamage that one or more piercing elements may cause to the filter.Accordingly, a filter guard may permit a filter to be initially locatedat or near a surface of the cartridge that is pierced, yet resist damageto the filter. In some embodiments, the filter guard may cause thefilter to move away from the piercing element(s), thereby resistingfilter damage. One possible advantage of the use of a filter guard insome embodiments may be to reduce the overall size of the cartridge,and/or increase an available volume in the cartridge for beverage media,since the filter may be positioned at or near the cartridge walls, evenin places where the cartridge is likely to be pierced. Thus, theinterior space of the cartridge may be more efficiently used.

In other embodiments, aspects of the invention may help resist filterdamage in circumstances where a filter is unintentionally placed at ornear a cartridge surface to be pierced. For example, in a cartridge likethat shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,840,189 or U.S. Patent Publication2005/0051478, errors in the manufacturing process may unintentionallyposition a filter lower in the cartridge than normal or otherwise closeto a point at which the cartridge is pierced, potentially exposing thefilter to the piercing exit needle. However, if a filter guard inaccordance with one or more aspects of the invention is provided, damageto the filter may be resisted.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a component in acartridge, such as a filter, may be moved by a piercing element thatpierces the cartridge so as to change a volume of at least one portionof the interior space of the cartridge. For example, in one embodiment,a piercing element that forms an outlet opening in the cartridge maycontact a filter (at least indirectly) and move a portion of the filterso as to increase a volume of a portion of the interior space that isdownstream of the filter. This increase in volume may allow space forthe piercing element, allow for easier flow of beverage out of thecartridge, and/or other features.

In accordance with one or more aspects of the invention, the cartridge10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a filter guard 40 (in this case atthe bottom of the container 12 between a bottom 16 of the container 12and a bottom 31 of the filter 30). Although the filter guard 40 may takeany one of several different forms, in this embodiment, the filter guard40 has a disc shape with an opening 42 near a center (e.g., awasher-like shape). During assembly of the cartridge 10, the filterguard 40 may be dropped into the container 12, and then the filter 30placed into the container 12 and attached to the container sidewall 17(e.g., by welding the filter 30 near its top edge to the sidewall 17).As shown in FIG. 1, the filter 30 may be placed at or near the bottom 16of the container 12 with the filter guard 40 positioned between thebottom 16 and the bottom 31 of the filter 30. In other embodiments, thefilter 30 may be positioned in the container 12 so that the filterbottom 31 is located at some distance above the bottom 16 of thecontainer 12, if desired. A beverage medium 20 may be placed in thecartridge 10, and the lid 38 attached to the container 12 to close theopening 13. In either case, tolerances regarding proper verticalplacement of the filter 30 in the container 12 may be relieved, since afilter 30 placed low in the container 12 may be protected from damage bythe filter guard 40.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the cartridge 10 is used to make abeverage, the lid 38 may be pierced by an inlet piercing element 50(e.g., a needle) so that water or other liquid may be introduced intothe cartridge 10. Other inlet piercing arrangements are possible, suchas multiple needles, a shower head, a non-hollow needle, a cone, apyramid, a knife, a blade, etc. A beverage machine may include multiplepiercing elements of the same type or of different types, as theinvention is not limited in this respect. In another arrangement, abeverage machine may include a piercing element that forms a hole in acontainer surface and thereafter a second piercing element may passthrough the formed hole to introduce liquid into (or conduct liquid outof) the container. Also, although a filter guard is not used in thisembodiment to help resist damage to the filter 30 that may be caused bythe inlet piercing element 50, other cartridge arrangements mayincorporate a filter guard for such purposes.

The cartridge 10 may also penetrated by an outlet piercing element 52(e.g., a needle) at a bottom 16 of the container 12. As can be seen inFIG. 3, the outlet piercing element 52 penetrates the bottom 16 andcontacts the filter guard 40, pushing the filter guard 40 and a portionof the filter 30 upwardly. In some embodiments, the piercing element 52may always extend about the same distance into the cartridge 10, e.g.,up to about 0.25 inches into the cartridge 10. However, piercing elementextension into the cartridge may vary in length, width or otherparameters as different sizes, types and configurations of piercingelements fall within the scope of the invention. In this illustrativeembodiment, the piercing element 52 remains in place so as to permitbeverage to exit the opening formed in the container 12. However, inother embodiments, the piercing element 52 may withdraw after forming anopening, allowing beverage to exit the opening without the piercingelement 52 being extended into the cartridge 10.

Although the piercing element 52 may have one or more sharp leadingedges or points, the filter guard 40 may be arranged to help protect thefilter 30 from damage that might otherwise be caused by the piercingelement 52. Note also that in this embodiment, the second portion 14 bof the interior space 14 is enlarged by upward movement of the filterguard 40 and filter 30. This may provide improved flow of beverage inthe second portion 14 b to the piercing element 52 and/or the opening inthe bottom 16 formed by the piercing element 52. In this embodiment, theoutlet piercing element 52 is expected to pierce the bottom 16 of thecontainer 12 in an annular area spaced inwardly from the edge of thecontainer 12 where the sidewall 17 and bottom 16 meet. Thus, the filterguard 40 may be arranged with an opening 42 near the center (e.g., tohelp the passage of beverage through the bottom 31 of the filter 30),since the piercing element 52 will not pierce the bottom 16 in thatlocation. However, the filter guard 40 may be configured differently fordifferent piercing arrangements.

For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a filter guard 40 may include multiplechannels 42 that permit liquid to flow through the filter guard 40. Thechannels 62 (in this embodiment having the form of circular holes) maybe sized to prevent contact of a piercing element 52 with a filter 30,even if a point or edge of the piercing element 52 is received into oneof the channels 42. Of course, the channels 42 may be arranged in anysuitable way, such as in an array of square holes of a mesh screen, asshown in FIG. 5, or an array of smaller circular holes in a plate, asshown in FIG. 6. FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of a filter guard 40 inwhich channels 42 are arranged in non-circular and/or multiple differentcross-sectional shapes. In FIG. 7, a circular channel 42 is located nearthe center of the filter guard 40 with and multiple arcuate slot-shapedchannels 42 arranged around the central circular channel 42. Otherarrangements are possible, such as a layer of sponge-like or otherporous material, which may also provide a filtering function, ifdesired.

Although FIGS. 4-7 show filter guards that each have a circular outerperimeter, a filter guard may have other shapes, e.g., which may dependon the type or shape of cartridge or other features. For example, asshown in FIG. 8, a filter guard 40 may include one or more projections74 that may help the filter guard 40 from shifting laterally in acontainer 12 of a cartridge 10, e.g., a container 12 having a circularlyshaped bottom 16. In some embodiments, the projections 74 may enable thefilter guard 40 to form an interference fit with an interior portion ofthe container 12. In this embodiment, channels 42 are located at theperiphery of the filter guard 40 between the projections 74. Additionalchannels may be provided, e.g., in the center of the filter guard 40 orelsewhere.

As discussed above, the filter guard 40 in the FIG. 3 embodiment may beconfigured to pivot or tilt when contacted by a piercing member.However, a filter guard 40 may move in other ways when contacted by apiercing element. For example, FIG. 9 shows a filter guard 40 that has agenerally cup-like shape similar to the container 12 in which the filterguard 40 is located. In one embodiment in which the filter guard 40 isused with a frustoconically shaped container 12 like that in FIGS. 1-3,the filter guard 40 may similarly have a frustoconical shape and besized to slide in a vertical direction relative to the container 12 whencontacted by a piercing element from the bottom of the container 12.This type of arrangement in FIG. 9 may also be useable in an arrangementin which the outlet piercing element(s) penetrate the container 12 atthe sidewall 17. In that case, the filter guard 40 may be made to movelaterally, or side-to-side, in the container 12 to permit movement ofthe piercing element into the interior space 14 while resisting damageto the filter 30.

In other embodiments, a filter guard may be attached to a containerand/or a filter (e.g. slidably coupled, pivotably coupled, rotatablycoupled, etc.). For example, in one embodiment, a filter guard 40 mayhave an interference fit with the container 12 so that the filter guard40 is not movable relative to the container 12. In other embodiments,one or more portions of the filter guard 40 may be immovably attached tothe container 12 or filter 30, while other portions of the filter guard40 may remain movable. For example, FIGS. 10 and 11 show a filter guard40 that is attached to a bottom 16 of a container 12 that has afrustoconical shape. FIG. 10 shows a top view of the filter guard 40with a dotted outline 93 indicating a perimeter of a bottom 16 ofcontainer 12. A central portion 43 of filter guard 40 is attached to thecontainer 12, e.g., by an adhesive, by being integrally molded with thecontainer 12, etc. Extension portions 44 of the filter guard 40 may havea “flower petal”-like shape and extend from the central portion 43. Theextension portions 44 may be configured to bend or tilt (as shown on theright in FIG. 11) when contacted by a piercing element 52. Thus, oneportion of the filter guard 40 (an extension portion 44) may move topermit penetration of a piercing element and resist contact of thepiercing element with a filter 30, while other portions of the filterguard 40 remain stationary relative to the container 12 and/or thefilter 30. Other similar arrangements will occur to those of skill inthe art, such as flaps, guides, baffles or other features that may befixed in the container 12 and function as a filter guard. In anotherembodiment, a filter guard 40 may be fixed to a filter 30, such as atthe bottom 31 of the filter 30 in the FIGS. 1-3 embodiment. This mayease construction of the cartridge, e.g., by reducing the number ofparts to be assembled. In such a case, the filter guard may be formedintegrally with the filter 30, such as by adhering a disc-shaped elementto the filter bottom 31, applying a hot glue or other material to thefilter bottom 31 to resist damage to the filter, and so on.

The filter guard may include materials that are sufficiently toughand/or sufficiently rigid to reduce damage to the filter from apuncturing member. Non-limiting examples of such a material include: amaterial that is flexible, but tough; a material that is rigid, butbrittle; a material that is stretchable or resilient, but tearresistant; a material that is tough and rigid, etc. A filter guard maybe formed of one material or multiple different materials havingdifferent material properties. A filter guard may include one component,multiple components that are separate, or multiple components that arecoupled to each other. Those of skill in the art will recognize that afilter guard may have many different configurations and may be formed ofmany different suitable materials or combinations of materials, such aspolymers, metals, and so on.

Another aspect of the invention relates to the formation of a beverageusing a cartridge incorporating a filter guard. As discussed above, thecartridge may take a variety of different arrangements, but in thisembodiment has the same general form as that shown in FIGS. 1-3. Thecartridge may be used with any suitable beverage machine, such as anyone of the brewers currently sold by Keurig, Incorporated of Reading,Mass. For example, FIGS. 12 and 13 show a perspective view and a sideview, respectively, of a beverage forming apparatus 100 that may be usedto form any suitable beverage, such as tea, coffee, other infusion-typebeverages, beverages formed from a liquid or powdered concentrate, orother. However, in this illustrative embodiment, the apparatus 100 isarranged to form coffee or tea beverages and includes an outer frame orhousing 6 with a user interface 8 that the user may operate to controlvarious features of the apparatus 100. As is known in the art, abeverage cartridge 10 may be provided to the apparatus 100 and used toform a beverage that is deposited into a cup 2 or other suitablecontainer that is placed on a drip tray 9 or other support, if any. Thecartridge 10 may be manually or automatically placed in a cartridgereceiving portion defined by first and second portions 3 and 4 of thebeverage forming apparatus 100. For example, by lifting a handle 5, theuser may move the first and second portions 3 and 4 to an open positionto expose a cup-shaped or otherwise suitably shaped area in which thecartridge 10 may be placed. After placement of the cartridge 10, ahandle 5 or other actuator may be moved in a manual or automatic fashionso as to move the first and second portions 3 and 4 to a closed position(shown in FIG. 1), thereby at least partially enclosing the cartridge 10within a brew chamber. It should be understood, however, that thecartridge 10 may be received in any suitable way by the apparatus 100,as the way in which the apparatus 100 receives or otherwise uses thecartridge 10 is not critical to aspects of the invention.

Once the cartridge 10 is received, the beverage forming apparatus 100may use the cartridge 10 to form a beverage. For example, one or moreinlet needles 50 (see FIG. 13) associated with the first portion 3 maypierce the cartridge 10 so as to inject heated water or other liquidinto the cartridge 10. The injected liquid may form the desired beverageor a beverage precursor (i.e., a substance used in a further operationto form a beverage, such as by the addition of milk, a flavoring, etc.).The second portion 4 may also include one or more outlet needles orother elements 52 (not shown in FIGS. 12 and 13) to puncture or piercethe cartridge 10 (as needed) at an outlet side to permit the formedbeverage to exit the cartridge 10 (see FIG. 3, for example).

FIG. 14 shows a schematic block diagram of various components includedin a beverage forming apparatus 100 in one illustrative embodiment.Those of skill in the art will appreciate that a beverage formingapparatus 100 may be configured in a variety of different ways, and thusaspects of the invention should not be narrowly interpreted as relatingonly to one type of beverage forming apparatus. Water or other liquidfrom a storage tank 110 may be provided via a supply conduit 111 to apump 112 (such as a centrifugal pump), which pumps the liquid via a pumpconduit 115 to a metering tank or chamber 118. Operation of the waterpump 112 and other components of the apparatus 100 may be controlled bya controller 130, e.g., including a programmed processor and/or otherdata processing device along with suitable software or other operatinginstructions, one or more memories, temperature and liquid levelsensors, pressure sensors, input/output interfaces, communication busesor other links, a display, switches, relays, triacs, or other componentsnecessary to perform desired input/output or other functions. Themetering tank 118 may be filled with a desired amount of liquid by anysuitable technique, such as running the pump 112 for a predeterminedtime, sensing a water level in the metering tank 118 using a conductiveprobe sensor or capacitive sensor, detecting a pressure rise in meteringtank 118 when the liquid fills the tank, or using any other viabletechnique. For example, the controller 130 may detect that the meteringtank 118 is completely filled when a pressure sensor detects a rise inpressure indicating that the water has reached the top of the meteringtank 118. Water in the tank may be heated, if desired, by way of aheating element 123 whose operation is controlled by the controller 130using input from a temperature sensor or other suitable input. Water inthe metering tank 118 may be dispensed via a metering tank conduit 119to a brew chamber 120 or other beverage forming station. The brewchamber 120 may include any beverage making ingredient, such as groundcoffee, tea, a flavored drink mix, or other substance, e.g., containedin a cartridge 10. Liquid may be discharged from the metering tank 118by pressurizing the metering tank with air provided by an air pump 121that causes the liquid to be discharged out of a tube 117 and into themetering tank conduit 119. Completion of the dispensing from themetering tank 118 may be detected in any suitable way, such as bydetecting a pressure drop in the metering tank 118, by detecting a waterlevel change in the metering tank 118, or using any other viabletechniques. Liquid may alternately be discharged from the metering tank118 by the pump 112 operating to force additional liquid into the tank118, thereby displacing water out of the tank 118 and to the brewchamber. A flow sensor or other suitable device may be used to determinethe amount of liquid delivered to the tank 118, and thus the amount ofliquid delivered to the brew chamber. Alternately, the pump 12 may be apiston-type or metering pump such that a known volume of liquid may bedelivered from the pump 112 to the tank 118, thus causing the same knownvolume to be delivered to the brew chamber 120. Liquid may be introducedinto the cartridge 10 at any suitable pressure, e.g., 1-2 psi or higher.

Another aspect of the invention includes a method of manufacturing acartridge. Steps of one such illustrative method are shown in FIG. 15.In step, S162, a filter, a filter guard and a container are provided.The container may have any suitable shape, size and/or configuration andmay include an interior space and a surface configured to be pierced,e.g., to allow exit of a beverage from the container. The container mayhave a defined shape, e.g., as with a thermo-molded plastic materialhaving a frustoconical cup shape, or may have a relatively undefinedshape, such as with a sachet-type configuration in which the containeris formed by a flexible sheet of material. The filter may have anysuitable arrangement, including material, size, shape, and/orconfiguration. For example, the filter may include a sheet of filterpaper that is arranged to allow a liquid and dissolved and/or suspendedmaterials of a certain size to pass, yet prevent relatively largeparticles from flowing through the filter. The filter guard may likewisehave any suitable arrangement, and be arranged to help resist damage tothe filter that may be caused by a piercing element that penetrates thecartridge. For example, the filter guard may be interposed between thefilter and the piercing element, preventing contact between the piercingelement and filter after the piercing element has penetrated thecartridge.

In step S164, the filter guard may be provided in an interior space ofthe cartridge container, e.g., by being inserted into the interior spacethrough an opening of the container. The filter guard may be providedinto the interior space in any suitable way, such as by dropping thefilter guard into the container, molding or otherwise forming the filterguard integrally with the container, adhering or otherwise fixing thefilter guard to the container, attaching the filter guard to the filter,and so on.

In step S166, at least a portion of the filter may be provided in theinterior space of the container. At least a portion of the filter may beprovided in the container in any suitable way, such as by dropping thefilter into the container, forming a portion of the filter integrallywith the container, affixing the filter to another element, such as thefilter guard, and placing the combined filter/element in the container,welding or otherwise securing the filter to the container, and so on.The filter may be arranged to receive a beverage medium in a firstportion of the interior space of the cartridge so that a liquid thatinteracts with the beverage material flows through the filter into asecond portion of the interior space. In some embodiments, the methodmay optionally include placing a beverage medium in the interior spaceof the container, and closing an opening of container with a lid. Also,although FIG. 15 shows steps occurring in a particular order, the stepsmay be performed in other orders. For example, the step of providing atleast a portion of the filter in the container may be performed beforethe filter guard is provided in the container. Also, some steps may beincorporated into other steps, as the invention is not limited in thisregard. For example, the step of providing the filter in the containermay include attaching the filter to the container.

Another aspect of the invention includes forming a beverage using abeverage machine and cartridge. One illustrative set of steps in such amethod is shown in FIG. 16. In step S172, a beverage machine is providedthat includes a receptacle arranged to receive a cartridge, a fluidinlet arranged to introduce liquid into the cartridge, and a fluidoutlet including a piercing element arranged to pierce a surface of thecartridge. In step S174, a cartridge is provided in the receptacle thatincludes a container with an interior space, and a beverage medium, afilter and a filter guard in the interior space. The filter may bearranged to filter liquid that interacts with the beverage medium in theinterior space, and the filter and filter guard may be positioned at ornear the surface of the cartridge to be pierced. In step S176, a surfaceof the cartridge is pierced with the piercing element so as to form anopening in the surface to permit a beverage to exit the cartridge. Asdiscussed above, the piercing element may remain engaged with thecartridge, or may withdraw to allow beverage to exit through the formedopening. In step S180, the piercing element may be contacted by thefilter guard to resist damage to the filter when the piercing elementextends into the interior space. In one embodiment, the piercing elementmay move or otherwise displace the filter guard and/or the filter whenextending into the interior space. The method may also includeintroducing a liquid, such as water, into the interior space, andallowing a beverage that is formed by the liquid interacting with thebeverage medium to exit through the opening formed in the surface of thecontainer.

Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of thisinvention, it is to be appreciated that various alterations,modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled inthe art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intendedto be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the spiritand scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description anddrawings are by way of example only.

What is claimed is:
 1. A beverage system comprising: a beverage machinecomprising: a receptacle arranged to receive a cartridge; a fluid inletarranged to introduce liquid into the cartridge; and a fluid outletincluding a piercing element arranged to pierce a surface of thecartridge; and a cartridge arranged to be received by the receptacle ofthe beverage machine such that the piercing element pierces thecartridge to permit a beverage to exit the interior space of thecontainer, the cartridge comprising: a container defining an interiorspace and having the surface arranged to be pierced by a piercingelement; a beverage medium in the interior space arranged to interactwith liquid introduced by the fluid inlet into the container to form abeverage; a filter at least partially located in the interior space andarranged to filter liquid that interacts with the beverage medium in theinterior space; and a filter guard arranged to contact the piercingelement, to move within the interior space and displace the filter inthe interior space to resist damage to the filter when the containersurface is pierced by the piercing element.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the filter guard is disposed in the interior space of thecontainer.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the piercing elementincludes a needle.
 4. A method of making a beverage, comprising:providing a beverage machine comprising a receptacle arranged to receivea cartridge, a fluid inlet arranged to introduce liquid into thecartridge, and a fluid outlet including a piercing element arranged topierce a surface of the cartridge; providing a cartridge in thereceptacle of the beverage machine, the cartridge including a containerwith a filter in an interior space of the container; piercing thesurface of the cartridge with the piercing element so as to form anopening in the surface to permit a beverage to exit the container; andcontacting a filter guard with the piercing element so as to cause thefilter guard to displace the filter in the interior space and to resistdamage to the filter by the piercing element.
 5. The method of claim 4,further comprising: introducing a liquid into the interior space by wayof the fluid inlet; and permitting a beverage to exit the cartridgethrough the opening formed by the piercing element.
 6. The method ofclaim 4, wherein contacting the filter guard comprises displacing atleast a portion of the filter guard and at least a portion of the filterrelative to the container.
 7. The method of claim 4, wherein the filterguard is positioned between at least a portion of the piercing elementand at least a portion of the filter when the filter guard is contactedby the piercing element.
 8. The method of claim 4, wherein contactingthe filter guard comprises displacing at least a portion of the filterguard in the interior space of the container.
 9. The method of claim 4,wherein the step of piercing the surface comprises piercing a bottom ofthe container.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of piercingthe surface comprises piercing a bottom of the container at an annulararea positioned around a center of the bottom.
 11. The method of claim4, wherein the cartridge includes a beverage medium arranged to interactwith liquid introduced into the container to form a beverage, thebeverage medium being located in the interior space.
 12. The method ofclaim 11, wherein the filter is arranged so that liquid that interactswith the beverage medium in a first portion of the interior space flowsthrough the filter toward a second portion of the interior space. 13.The method of claim 11, wherein the container has an opening that isclosed by a lid, the method further comprising piercing the lid with thefluid inlet.
 14. The method of claim 4, wherein the filter guard has adisc shape and is located in the interior space.
 15. The method of claim4, wherein the filter guard comprises a body with at least one channelarranged to permit liquid to flow past the body.
 16. The method of claim4, wherein the filter guard separates at least a portion of thecontainer surface pierced by the piercing element and the filter. 17.The method of claim 4, wherein the filter guard is attached to thefilter.
 18. The method of claim 4, wherein the container has afrustoconical shape with a sidewall and a bottom, the filter has a cupshape, and the filter guard includes a disc shaped body at the bottom ofthe container.
 19. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of contactingthe filter guard includes causing the filter guard to move and deformthe filter.
 20. The method of claim 4, wherein the filter guard includesa plurality of extension portions, and the step of contacting the filterguard includes contacting an extension portion to move the extensionportion and cause the extension portion to displace a portion of thefilter.
 21. The method of claim 20, wherein each extension portion has apetal shape with a portion that is fixed to the container and a movableportion arranged to move relative to the fixed portion with contact ofthe piercing element.
 22. A method of making a beverage, comprising:piercing a surface of a cartridge container with a piercing element soas to form an opening in the surface to permit a beverage to exit thecontainer; and inserting the piercing element into the container tocontact and move a filter guard in the container, movement of the filterguard by the piercing element causing the filter guard to displace afilter in an interior space of the container and to resist damage to thefilter by the piercing element.
 23. The method of claim 22, furthercomprising: providing a beverage machine comprising a receptaclearranged to receive the cartridge, a fluid inlet arranged to introduceliquid into the cartridge, and a fluid outlet including the piercingelement arranged to pierce the surface of the cartridge; and providingthe cartridge in the receptacle of the beverage machine.
 24. The methodof claim 23, further comprising: introducing a liquid into the interiorspace by way of the fluid inlet; and permitting a beverage to exit thecartridge through the opening formed by the piercing element.
 25. Themethod of claim 22, wherein the step of inserting the piercing elementincludes displacing at least a portion of the filter guard and at leasta portion of the filter relative to the container.
 26. The method ofclaim 22, wherein the filter guard is positioned between at least aportion of the piercing element and at least a portion of the filterwhen the filter guard is contacted by the piercing element.
 27. Themethod of claim 22, wherein the step of piercing the surface comprisespiercing a bottom of the container.
 28. The method of claim 27, whereinthe step of piercing the surface comprises piercing a bottom of thecontainer at an annular area positioned around a center of the bottom.29. The method of claim 22, wherein the cartridge includes a beveragemedium arranged to interact with liquid introduced into the container toform a beverage, the beverage medium being located in the interiorspace.
 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the filter is arranged sothat liquid that interacts with the beverage medium in a first portionof the interior space flows through the filter toward a second portionof the interior space.
 31. The method of claim 22, wherein the filterguard has a disc shape and is located in the interior space.
 32. Themethod of claim 22, wherein the filter guard is attached to the filter.33. The method of claim 22, wherein the container has a frustoconicalshape with a sidewall and a bottom, the filter has a cup shape, and thefilter guard includes a disc shaped body at the bottom of the container.34. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of inserting the piercingelement includes causing the filter guard to move and deform the filter.35. The method of claim 22, wherein the filter guard includes aplurality of extension portions, and the step of inserting the piercingelement includes contacting an extension portion to move the extensionportion and cause the extension portion to displace a portion of thefilter.
 36. The method of claim 35, wherein each extension portion has apetal shape with a portion that is fixed to the container and a movableportion arranged to move relative to the fixed portion with contact ofthe piercing element.